The first two readings as per the Conversation and Uncertainty workshop are wonderful pieces to have begun delving into with regards to Literacy.
I quite agree with Walter MacGinitie when he states that “uncertainty is frightening”. He is quite right. It is this very same fear of the unknown that always seems to invoke our most deep-rooted emotions, thereby putting us on edge. How interesting to read that Andrew Manning correlates this feeling of being on the edge with actual learning. I am beginning to wonder if I can even go so far as to say that existing on this edge might well bring about our best learning.
With regards to literacy and literacy learning, I feel very much in the dark, having never taught in a regular classroom setting. In this light, I feel very much uncertain about this course (in terms of having something illuminating to say), but I am willing to embrace this uncertainty that I feel.
To be a good teacher, one must have doubts. Believe me, I have many of those!
To be a good teacher, one must both accept and acknowledge that he/she will always have much to learn. Believe me, I am far from having all the answers. In fact, I am not sure if I even have all the questions!
There seems to exist much irony between the envisaged (or envisioned) curriculum, as set down by the Department of Education, and the real curriculum. I have often asked myself, how is it that governmental department individuals (whose contact with students is limited or nil) are the ones who create the curriculum that teachers are expected to implement in the classroom? The answer to this very question continues to elude me. I quite agree with Andrew Manning in that it is time to “reclaim the classroom”.
Countless atrocities are committed by individuals who absolutely, and without reservation, believe themselves to be right, as is brought to the fore by Walter MacGinitie. This may invoke visions of war, famine and natural disaster to most. Despite the drastic comparison, can we not philosophically say that atrocities are being committed within our very classrooms when, at the upper levels, regurgitation appears to have more importance than actual learning? This is what creates stagnant learners.
Not only do we all learn different things, but we all have different learning styles. We need to accept and work with these learning styles, be they auditory, visual or tactile/kinesthetic. We need to continue to learn which accommodations best meet these learning needs. This is beginning to happen, courtesy of Pathways, but it is not without its downside. Married with large class sizes and literacy difficulties, can one teach a Math course to 40 students when at least 10 significantly struggle with reading of text? How can we best embrace the Pathways documents? In failing to provide teachers with the much needed supports (i.e. student assistants for academic reasons for the Criteria F and/or Criteria G student), we are also failing individual learners. If, as a result of literacy learning difficulties, they do not meet with success in the school environment, what message of learning does this send?
Life is not a transmission of knowable facts. Life is about learning. As responsible educators, we must learn to create better classrooms that allow for and encourage learning. We must allow for our students to make the much needed connections between personal experiences (what is known) and learning (what is newly experienced). It is only in having experienced this ourselves that allows for the lightbulb moment that Oprah Winfrey is so fond of reiterating.
I appreciate the fact that every new connection changes what we know. How delightful to know that we are dynamic individuals. I welcome the process whereby both the knower and the knowing change on a frequent basis, hoping that I model it well for my students.
How does one do this? By learning to abandon the quest for perfection and certainty.
